1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to a preconstructed folding food tray which is adapted to open and close easily and, more particularly, to a foldable tray blank and method of erecting the blank to form the constructed tray. The present invention is an improvement of the prior art invented by DeMay and filed with the US Patent & Trademark Office in 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,204.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Fast, convenient take-out and prepared food services have become a way of life in modern society. There many food trays, containers have been made and distributed to retails where food are served and delivered. Furthermore, many gift shops have used verity of such containers as gift wrapping and decorations. The most commonly used food tray is the Chinese food pail that is universally known in the take-out food industry. It is preconstructed at the manufacturing plant by folding a precut blank and fastening the gusset flaps with glue or metallic wire. Commercial products of this type have been offered by Fold-Pak Corporation since approximately 1977. Hundreds of millions such food pails are manufactured and distributed worldwide annually.
The food pails fastened by adhesive (glue) are easily break open during stacking and shipping and adhesive is deposited on the interior surface of the blank, specifically between the adjacent panels which form each corner of the carton. When exposed to high temperature, this adhesive can cause undesirable contamination of the contents and once opened, it is quite a hassle to reclose. Those that are using metal wire are not microwave resistant if the metal wire is not removed, as well, it is not convenient to open for pouring out of food or use it as disposable dinning container. Without opening the tray, food or contents is almost invisible from other angles unless directly peak from top opening. In addition, they all are pre-constructed at manufactures and take certain amount of space for packaging, shipping and storing. The DeMay's 1990 invention of the recloseable food tray only offered the previously existing food pail a top recloseable panels. The present invention permits the food pail re-open and reclose from both top and side as end user desires.
This disclosure indicates a clear need for a folding food carton which overcomes the deficiencies of earlier art-recognized techniques. Furthermore, the current computer guided precision cut and laser cut technologies have made the present invention easily manufactured and cost effective possible.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a blank, reclosable food tray which is substantially leak-proof and adapted for exposure to microwave and other high temperature applications.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a convenient, reusable container for an assorted selection of take-out and prepared foods
Another object is to provide a food tray which can be shipped in blank to the end user. It is cost effective on manufacturing, wrapping, shipping and storing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a food tray which has improved operability and improved “closeability” and which affords improved protection to the food contents after reclosing.
Another object is to provide an easy reopen/recloseable container that make the content transferred from, or to other containers easily. As well, make food or content in tray more visible from opening.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a container that can be easily opened and served as a temporary, informal food plate and make-shift dinning containers for casual occasions.
A further object of the present invention is to provide folding tray blanks which can be constructed in a simple and efficient manner. Optimally, it can be stored as tray blank and constructed by end user at last minute when needed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide tray blanks of varying configurations which are adapted with cuts and score lines to form an assembled tray container for take-out and prepared foods.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an environmentally attractive food tray made from biodegradable material. Less material is used, less energy consumed when manufacturing it. In result, less packing material and less cargo space when shipping.
A further object of the present invention is to provide tray blanks which are adapted for manufacture from paperboard sheet stock using high-speed cutting and scoring machines.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide tray blanks using a minimum amount of stock during the cutting and scoring operations.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of erecting the food tray without high speed operations involved.
Another object of the present invention is to provide end user a carrying strap that is capable carrying multiple containers at same time as very commonly that people taking out several different food containers on a single trip.
A further objective of the present invention is to minimize, or even eliminate, the usage of extra brown, plastic bags that are commonly provided to host multiple containers.
A further objective of the present invention is to expose exterior surface which could be utilized for retail logos, advertisements, art work/decoration, identification marks and social awareness communications, etc.
Based on this disclosure, additional objects of the present invention will be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the pertinent art.